Tigers are still making strides

Tuesday

Sep 21, 2010 at 10:00 AMSep 21, 2010 at 10:08 AM

Dave MoormannSports Correspondent

BATON ROUGE — To illustrate the team unity that is developing among his players, LSU football coach Les Miles provided two examples during his weekly press luncheon on Monday afternoon.Both occurred after interceptions against Mississippi State last week and demonstrated what Miles called the "fundamental teammanship" that is bringing the Tigers closer together.The first involved junior strong safety Brandon Taylor after one of sophomore cornerback Morris Claiborne's two interceptions. In all, LSU intercepted five passes in its 29-7 victory.Taylor showed extreme effort to get "in front to block" for Claiborne, Miles said. Not to be outdone, redshirt freshman Sam Montgomery "gets two blocks for his teammate" after another pick, Miles said."The togetherness in our locker room with both offense and defense playing for one another is pretty special, and I enjoy that," Miles said. "Our team is growing there, as well."No. 15 LSU can take another step in its development at 8 p.m. Saturday when it entertains No. 22 West Virginia in what promises to be a highly charged non-conference game. Both teams are 3-0 overall."I felt like we improved" against Mississippi State, Miles said. "We are not there; we are not in any way happy at the position we are at. We are doing the things that we need to do to ensure victory. We are playing great defense and making sure we are doing the right things with the ball on the offensive side and playing quality special teams."Senior Josh Jasper kicked a school-record five field goals against Mississippi State in earning Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors. For the second week in a row, senior tackle Drake Nevis received SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week recognition.Nevis intercepted the first pass of his career against the Bulldogs and recorded a career-high nine tackles. In holding Mississippi State and Vanderbilt to a combined 10 points, LSU has allowed the fewest points against its first two SEC foes since 2004.Nevis' interception was "one of the most unusual plays" he's seen, Miles said. Nevis snatched a ball out of the air that had been knocked loose by freshman defensive back Tyrann Mathieu. Mathieu has continued to distinguish himself in numerous ways, including the fact that Mathieu made three tackles on kickoffs last week, Miles said.For reasons unexplained, Miles said Nevis would have described his interception as "a chocolate chip cookie." Nevis made an athletic move before the interception, Miles said, but of the theft, Miles said, "It is hard for me to say, ‘Drake, that was a heck of an interception.' "Even so, it is indicative of the good fortune LSU has helped create with the speed throughout its lineup."That defense playing the way it is, if we do the right things with the football and run it and move it when needed, and throw it a little better, we will win a lot of football games," Miles said.LSU is the only SEC team to have played two league games and so leads the league at this point. LSU will return to conference action at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 2 when it entertains Tennessee in a game to be televised by CBS. LSU returned home against Mississippi State after having played at a neutral site and then on the road."I can tell you that there was a marked difference in the enjoyment of our team to play in Tiger Stadium," Miles said. "I think our team has really chosen to make that experience very special. Wow, how wonderful it was this weekend."